Nobody recalls the night sleep stole them away but everybody recalls the well, D-Night they spent writing and proofreading their resumes and portfolios. Pulsating brows, quivering fingers, and a restless mind; that’s how sleepless those nights are until you finally click send.

The tension, turns out, is worth the trouble. “ Your evaluation starts even before the person opens the portfolio links,” says Utpal Barve, the Experience Director at Interbrand. He is an accomplished Creative Director with a demonstrated history of working in the Marketing and Advertising Industry. He is skilled in Digital Strategy, Logo Design, Branding & Identity, Integrated Marketing, and Advertising. He is a strong art and design professional who graduated from Sir J.J. College of Architecture.

The e-mails, the phone calls, the messages, that is where evaluation begins. Rather than just attaching a link in the mail, fixing a meeting to talk about your portfolio can be much more effective. “Never send presentations, present them,” advises Utpal, “ Nobody is interested in seeing your portfolio if you are not interested in presenting it.” That is one of the ways interest and curiosity can be generated. It is also important to be polite and punctual because all little things matter.

Who knew termites would inspire cooling systems in buildings and kingfishers would inspire Japanese bullet trains. Inspiration can be found anywhere and everywhere. We need to be a student for life, acknowledge inspirations and capture all these stories. “Your portfolio is your story and you can make it as experiential as you want,” says Utpal, “Remember, humans hire humans.”

Doing your homework about the person you’re presenting to can work wonders. To know the traits of the person, his or her liked or disliked fonts and colors can help you incorporate the necessary story-telling in your presentation. Feedbacks and criticisms don’t need to change the course of your thinking process or design strategy, they just need to be understood and incorporated wherever found necessary.

“Intuition is like a muscle. You will have to develop it,” he says. An evocative appeal in the project, a kind of emotional gratification will make the people using the app or product feel drawn towards it. We need to work more on what we want to tell the customers. All aspects, small or big, need to be thought about.

A shiny, black perfume bottle with an inviting fluid form no doubt looks appealing and classy because it has been well thought. Perfumes are associated with fragrance, a fragrance with attraction, and attraction with nightlife. All emotions come in a full circle as the product captures them fulfilling the user’s expectations.

“When did we start using a mobile phone as a calling device, a camera, a social media connector, and now a health device,” remarks Utpal at the iconic shift customer expectations make with time.

However rapidly as the days pass, one thing that stays on is the Unique Distinctive Asset (UDA). A yellow M-like arch can only mean McDonald’s. The UDA gets associated with a product and has a lasting impression. But it is also of the essence to be able to verbally articulate the UDA like ‘a tick mark sign’ for Nike or ‘the triangle shape’ for Bingo Mad Angles, without which one is put at a disadvantage.

It is important to capture the authenticity, the crux of the project. The difference between designing and over-designing is a fine line and we need to take a call when to stop. And at times such as these, third-party opinions and feedbacks are called for. Being adamant can only cause further harm. Every creative pursuit also has its destiny. Utpal concludes, “You will have to be in the fraternity, keep learning from clients and keep growing.”

Written by,

Esha Mehta